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But this has now gone beyond minor inconveniences and a bit of physical discomfort. The impact of the heat has been devastating, and increasingly fatal, particularly for the hundreds of people dying of starvation due to withering crops in their remote fields.

Tens of thousands of farmers have had no other option but to abandon their land and move into the cities.

Meanwhile, suicide among farmers is on the rise thanks to the extreme environmental conditions. According to the Indian Express, 36 farmers in the drought-ridden region of Marathwada have committed suicide this past week alone.

They reported that over the past four and a half months, the total figure of suicides has been put at 454. Officials said the collective total in the past 16 months has reached 1548.

Officials told the Press Times of India that there is a mere one per cent of water left in the region's dams.

Municipal workers and a roadside snack vendor rest under the shade of a tree on a hot afternoon in New Delhi. Much of India is reeling under heat wave. Photo / AP

Municipal workers and a roadside snack vendor rest under the shade of a tree on a hot afternoon in New Delhi. Much of India is reeling under heat wave. Photo / AP

Extreme weather conditions obviously present huge problems for farmers. In this case, withered crops are forcing tens of thousands of them to abandon their land and homes to move to the urban cities.

Extreme droughts, unseasonal rains and poor yields have left them with crippling debt and even greater poverty. For some, it would seem death is the only option.

In other shocking reports, financially-crippled women are forced into prostitution to support their families.Rama Devi, a now-single mother of three from Kadiri, Anantapur, told News 18 her lack of income as a farm labourer had forced her to take up sex work.

Her husband deserted the whole family when the incessant environmental conditions financially destroyed the family.

"There had been no rain for years, and no work," Ms Devi told News 18. "My friend said how long will you live without work. He said he has a job that can ensure a good future for my children. So I took up the job of a sex worker. I had no other option. Many times clients would beat me, force me to drink alcohol and travel to different cities along with them. But I have to tolerate everything."

She said she loathed her job in the sex trade. She is stigmatised by her community, and her children - who also bear the brunt of discrimination - resent her for it.

In his latest broadcast on the monthly radio program Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has addressed the country's heatwave and droughts.

Children jump into a water canal to cool themselves on a hot summer day in Jammu. Photo / AP

Children jump into a water canal to cool themselves on a hot summer day in Jammu. Photo / AP

Six months ago, at a high-stakes United Nations conference in Paris, Mr Modi blamed richer nations around the world for the country's suffering, saying India was suffering the effects of climate change without having necessarily caused it themselves.

"Climate change is a major global challenge. But it is not of our making. It is the result of global warming that came from prosperity and progress of an industrial age powered by fossil fuel," he said.

He criticised affluent nations, saying "those with luxury of choices" had an obligation to help reduce emissions."We in India face consequences. We see the risk to our farmers. We are concerned about rising oceans that threaten our 7500km of coastline and 1300 islands. We worry about the glaciers that feed our rivers and nurture our civilisation."